Saturday, March 30, 2013

Memorial Feast Divine: Making Unleavened Bread

We're surrounded by statues here in the former USSR, a salute to people who have survived much, who remember so much, who regularly pause to honor those to whom honor is due. The thing is, while statues do grab our attention, they are big, bulky and expensive. They have their limitations.

Jesus Christ himself asked to be memorialized not in stone carvings but through a memorial feast that He, Himself began.The feast is brilliant in its simplicity, using unleavened bread made from ingredients found in every kitchen, a recipe that hearkens generations back in Hebrew history.

And so it is that each Sunday, including Resurrection Sunday, in Churches of Christ, we pause and reflect to honor the price our Lord willingly paid to redeem us.

Christ is Risen! proclaims the embroidery in Russian.

Unleavened bread, part of the memorial feast.

I've been in Donetsk, Ukraine in recent days, living with dear sister Tatyana and her husband who minister for a small congregation. Tanya's Saturday routine includes making unleavened bread for Sunday worship.

Who needs a bowl? Mix the flour and oil right on the table.

Mix, mix, mix. . . using fingertips. They're cooler, you know, that the palm of the hand.

Tanya actually kneads the dough. Surprised me a bit, since that develops gluten and makes it tougher. But hey, maybe the Hebrew homemakers did some kneading too. . .

Next, tidy up the table for the next step. Make a nice surface for rolling.

So here's the dough. It's not a pie-crust, so no worries about making it round, just get 'er rolled out.

Good news: the dough didn't stick to the table. That's an experienced cook for you.

Now, on to baking tray. These trays are part of typical oven here, a shelf that doubles as a baking pan. (Myself, I'd rather have a 2nd wire oven rack. But who asked me. . .? ha) Bake this in a medium oven until. . . until it's light brown.

The finished bread, so simple yet profound. Represents the body of our Lord, broken for us.

So, dear Blog-reading Friends, have you ever made unleavened bread? How would you prefer to be memorialized by those who survive you? Would you go for a statue in a park? A nice memorial in a cemetery or some other tangible way?